Reflection on our first five Death Cafe gatherings

We started running Death Cafe Hoddesdon with some trepidation in February 2016, not knowing how it would go, whether anyone would turn up or if the conversations would flow.

We needn’t have worried.

Though never large in number, every month we see new and familiar faces and the conversations had are never the same.

People come for so many different reasons: to talk about their own experience of death and dying, wanting to help a close friend, a desire to be more prepared ahead of needing to deal with it, simply an interest in the subject but without any friends or family willing to talk about it, supporting ageing parents so being forced to think about it, a preoccupying fear about it, questions around life after death, curiosity...the list goes on.

Death Cafe Hoddesdon is resuming now the Christmas and New Year festivities are over and we are looking forward to our next gatherings, knowing that interesting conversations are guaranteed!